The Little Things That Make Us Love
by Mizuki Tsukino
Summary: Gamzee is the new kid and Tavros is bullied. Can they find happiness in each other? Gamzee/Tavros A.K.A. PB&J. Mentioned past Vriska/Tavros. NO LONGER REMAINING A ONE-SHOT. My lovely, disgusting kismesis has inspired me to add more chapters later.


Changing schools fucking sucks. We've all had to do it at some point or another. But yeah when you look and act like you do it's worse. No one was ever really _comfortable _around you. But hey, that's cool.  
Your name is Gamzee Makara and this is your first day of 8th grade for the second time in a new school. You roll into first period 10 minutes late and are greeted by the typical stares, scowls, and gasps. You dump yourself into a seat near the back. The teacher, some 50-something lady with pointy shoes for kicking apart children's imaginations, looks like she wants to tell you off, but thinks better of it when you narrow your eyes at her. You could be scary as Hell and you knew it. Came in fucking handy sometimes.  
The day passes in a blur. You would sneak off during lunch to light up but… You have a sorry excuse of a parole officer watching you. This is going to be a long year.

You are now Tavros Nitram and God damn it what does she want this time. Your (ex) girlfriend, Vriska, is walking over with her posse of rich assholes and it's got you squirming nervously and trying to roll away, if you could just get out the door – your dad would be there waiting for you. She reaches you before you can get far and stops you with a hand on either wheel.

Wheelchairs suck.

"Hey Tavros," She coos, stretching out 'hey' in that way that says this is going to be trouble. "I Equius says you've been hangin' around with Nep lately. You're not cheating on me aaare you?" You force a wobbly smile to combat your own fear. You had dated Vriska once at the beginning of the year, but she was so abusive. But she insists that you're still together. Every time you've tried to explain to her that that _isn't happening _she started yelling and she's hit you a few times… You decided it wasn't worth it and started playing along. As far as hanging out with Nepeta, well yeah. She's your cousin so you _do _tend to do stuff together. She's a great artist so sometimes you just like to sit and watch her draw and pet her cats.  
"O-of course not! She's just a friend and she's pretty fun to hang out with," Fuck, you'll regret that. Complimenting another girl – big no-no in Vriska's book. And Equius didn't seem to like you talking about her either – he's got this weird protective crush on her or something, you don't really understand it. Shit shit shit they're closing in on you now-  
And suddenly you're being wheeled backwards and you yelp a little, holding onto the arm rests because _who the Hell is doing this and why are they moving so fast_. You're in a completely different hall now and you think your tormentors lost track of you. You turn your head and peek out from under the bit of your hair that's fallen over your eye to see who… who saved you, you realize.  
…Well that's not what you expected and suddenly you're not so sure you were saved. This guy is freaking scary. He's at least 6' 2" and all thin muscles and crazy black hair. Not to mention the weird grey and white clown makeup. How is he allowed to wear that in school? You sink into your chair a little as he slouches on the wall, catching his breath. After a minute of debating whether or not to just roll away he turns a give you a lazy but genuine smile, extending his hand.

== Be the tall kid.  
You found your way back to being the tall weirdo who was _about _to introduce himself to the cutie with the big brown eyes. Your hand is extended.  
"Hey motherfucker, I'm Gamzee," You see him hesitate, so you try to look friendly. You know that's probably a long shot. But he sticks out a small, tan hand to clasp yours for a moment. It's soft and warm in yours and you think you could get used to it.  
"Tavros… Thanks for, uhm, saving me. I guess," He looks pretty shaken up and you think it might be partially your fault for… being you. Your smile doesn't falter though.  
"No problem. I saw those guys all up and pickin' on you and thought I'd help a motherfucker out," He smiles a nervous little smile at you then and you're pretty fucking stoked to see it.  
"Yeah. Hehe, well, I've got to go now. I'll probably see you around," He turns himself towards the exit at the end of the hall but looks back to wave.  
"Sure thing bro!" You call, waving back even though he can't see you anymore.

It's lunch time a week later when you see your new friend again. You're perched at the same table you claimed your first day, alone on the edge of the loud cafeteria bubbling over with the latest gossip (a lot of it about you). Tavros is wheeling himself out of the room and you think you know why, some punks are sneering at him and blocking the ramp that leads down to the order station. You grab your plate of, apparently, chicken nuggets and head in that same direction, making sure the give one of the fuckers a nice slap on the back of the head as you went. They fell to the ground, caught off balance, and you kept walking.  
It's not hard to find him; you can hear him sniffling in one of the empty classrooms lining the hall just outside the lunch room. You cautiously open the door and his head whips up to see you before he furiously tries to wipe his tears away. You make sure to spread a smile across you face as you go to sit on a desk in front of him, thrusting the plate of food into his hands. He looks at you for a second, confused.  
"Thought you might be motherfucking hungry, so I snagged this for ya," He sniffles again and nods before eating. You wait in patient silence, zoning out a few times – this turns out to be an art classroom and, well, you have a habit if getting distracted by colorful things. You're pulled back to reality when Tavros mumbles his thanks. "Ain't no problem Tavbro… Do people give you shit like that all the time?"  
"Not always… But it happens. It's not really such a bad thing, really. Just an annoyance!" He's got this ridiculous grin splitting his face and you guess this is how he deals with this, kind of like how you would smoke a bowl whenever shit got you down. Tav just lied to himself. That's fine, we all have our ways. Still, you really hated those motherfuckers for making him cry.

== Be the deluded cutie

Your stomach twists a little at the look of anger that flashes past his eyes but you choose to ignore its possible source. Gamzee is proving to be pretty… interesting. There are rumors going around about him and how he got kicked out of his last school. Some say he flipped shit and tried to beat some kid to death, others say he was selling drugs; all of them labeled him bad news. But he'd come to your rescue twice now and hadn't made fun of your disability or anything else… He seems like a cool guy to you. So you do something pretty spur of the moment.  
"Hey Gamzee, do you want to maybe come over to my house today? My parents won't mind, they're happy whenever I have a friend over. Uh, if you want that is," You rub a hand across the back of your neck awkwardly. You're not great at the whole "friends" thing. But he hadn't stopped smiling and any lingering signs of agitation vanished. You decide you like him best when he's calm and happy.  
"Sure thing bro, I'm always down to spend some quality time with a cute motherfucker," You blush brightly but also smirk and giggle a little, Gamzee's flirtatious attitude was actually pretty charming.  
"Awesome! Meet me by the main exit after school?" He nods and the buzzer signaling the end of lunch rings through the room. He pushes you to your next class and you joke back and forth all the way. At one point you pass Vriska and her crew and you fall silent and hang your head. Gamzee, however, keeps chattering and casually flips them the bird as you pass. Even they're too scared of what they've heard of him to do anything about it. You can't help it, you start laughing loudly and he grins down at you, ruffling your fluffy Mohawk. He drops you off in front of your class and just offers to walk you to _every _class. If for nothing other than to be your bodyguard. You tell him you'd like that and he hurries off to class as well.

== Be the happy clown.

The last half of the day is composed of too long classes that you don't really try to pay attention to and too short walks with Tav in between. You can tell people are already cooking up _new _rumors about what the two of you are doing together. But honestly who cares? He's funny, fucking adorable, and actually pretty badass once he got comfortable with you and stopped being nervous. You wonder how hanging at his house is going to go… You'd kind of like to ask him out on, like, a date. So yeah. You think you'll probably do that.  
You don't have to wait too long to get going with this plan 'cause suddenly the final bell is ringing and you're speed walking to where you agreed to meet Tavros. He's waiting by the door, talking to who you assume is his dad – he looks just like Tav but taller and, well, walking. You rest a hand on the back of his chair and he twists to look up at you and grins like a fool. Introductions are made and you all go outside to the car. Tavros's dad, Rufio you think his name was, like from that movie with the pirate and marbles, opens one of the back doors and Tav looks kind of embarrassed as he's lifted out of his chair and set in the vehicle. You hop in back with him and act like nothing happened and he seems grateful. You slip back into teasing each other and talking about classes during the short drive. At one point your hands kind of brush together between you and there's this insane electric feeling that passes between you. If he felt it too it'd be a fucking miracle. And you think he might have because he only moves his hand enough to make his fingers twine with yours. You keep talking and laughing and then you're at his house.

For the next, oh who knows, few hours we'll say you two chill in Tav's room. You kick his ass in Mario Cart, watch a bad movie, and lay down some sick fires (who knew this kid could rap?). Eventually you're both just lying on his bed, talking again. He tells you about Vriska and the other bullies he's dealt with, you tell him about your parents' divorce and how you got kicked out of your last school for drug possession. You ask him how he ended up in the wheel chair – accident playing on the monkey bars when he was little – and he asks about your face paint… At first you give him the standard "Why not? It's motherfucking _unique_," but he's not buying it. So you tell him the truth, that it hides the scars your dad gave you when he got violent during the time he was drinking. He asks to see. Fuck, sure. You agree, washing it off in the bathroom attached to his bedroom and returning with a clean face. Three pale scars run diagonal across your nose and right cheek. You stay neutral in that moment, sitting back next to him on the bed, as you see the expected pity in his eyes but also something you're not used to – was that… caring?  
You don't even get a second to analyze what you saw there because he leans up and presses his mouth to yours. Your eyes widen then drift close as you press back and smile into the kiss. His lips are plush and warm and comforting and you've never felt so at home. Tav pulls back first and giggles. You go back in for another quick peck.  
"I don't suppose you'd be wantin' to go on a date with this motherfucker sometime, would you?" He rolls his eyes and sort of snuggles into your chest.  
"Of course I would," You sigh into his hair and hold him tight until you have to leave.

You are Gamzee Makara and you have the most perfect, miraculous boyfriend in the whole universe.

You are Tavros Nitram and you've never been happier.


End file.
